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Something I don't know is how to securely delete files. In Windows I had a program to securly wipe freespace. It would write over the free space multiple times so nothing could be recovered. It also had the option to "shred" files, delete them by overwriting multiple times.

How does all this work with my new Mac. I have a 15in MacBook Pro running Tiger.

Thanks for that. What about things that haven't been done that way, i.e. the free space on the hard drive. Is there something in Tiger, or is there some app for Macs that will securely wipe the freespace?

Thanks for that. What about things that haven't been done that way, i.e. the free space on the hard drive. Is there something in Tiger, or is there some app for Macs that will securely wipe the freespace?

I'd be interested in knowing if there is a relatively easy answer to that question. I'll be watching!

Disk Utility (Applications>Utilities) will do that and it's on every install of Mac OS X.

Just click the drive you want to work on and click "Erase". Then at the the bottom you'll see "Write 0s to free space". You can do that up to 7 times, I think.

Hey that is really cool. I can't believe how much I'm learning about my Mac and I've been using a Mac for 14 years. I think sometimes we just get stuck doing the same things over and over and never learn the tricks that are available. Thanks again.

Thanks for all the help. I went there (applications>disk utility) and after selecting the laptop drive it gives me the tab choice to erase, at the bottom it says "erase free space". It has three choices "write zeros one time" and seven times, and THIRTY FIVE TIMES. With 31 GBs of free space it is estimating 43 minutes for one time. So if you plan on doing it set aside some time.

Yes, it takes time, but if you are very concerned about security it is very valuable. I think the CIA uses a 7 pass system on any HD they dispose of (forget where I read this on a computer security site). The Mac can do a 35 pass erase....

I usually use the regular empty trash, and then do a 1 pass weekly and a 7 pass monthly, and it should do a 35 pass yearly when that happens (Jan 1), as long as I have my crontab set up correctly.

From what I read the "Erase Free Space" command creates a huge file that takes up all the empty disk space. It seems from posts I've read here that the file(s) should be in your trash. Someone from MacOSXHints recommended using OmniDiskSweeper if you can't spot the file(s) in your trash. And run Disk Utility starting from your CD or DVD that came with your Mac and run "Repair Disk".

I wouldn't use that "Erase Free Space" command at all, unless it was imperative to do so. I've read this happens all the time getting the message your disk is full and it brings hassles.